Today is the last day of this year. At the beginning of this year, I was preparing for an ANJO exam to get an accounting credit to satisfy the eligibility to sit for the USCPA exam. At that point I didn’t know anything about Chinese.
Now I’m preparing for USCPA exam to actually sit for the exam on the next May of July.
Now I know, at least, how to learn Chinese.
These are the improvements that I realized.
BUT, I could have studied much more than I did.
This is the most regrettable thing.

Ah, one more thing. I kept writing this blog without skipping a day.
Thank you, all the readers, for your encouragement!

I spent all day long helping my wife’s mother to prepare Nengajo, the New Year greeting cards. Since they said they sent hundreds of Nengajos on hand-writing basis every year, I suggested that they do it with PC. Upon saying that, I regretted that I made such a suggestion without considering the consequence, but it was too late.
I had to drive all the way to buy a PC application software for Nengajo. After I came back, then I had to install it to their old-spec PC (memory:64MB, HD:3GB!).
It took several hours before everything got set up!
By the time I finished everything, another problem occurred to me.
「谁明年做这个工作? 」“Who’s gonna do it next year?”

Today I was on the Shinkansen bound for Fukuoka, so that my wife and I were going to spend the year end at her hometown.
On our way to her home, we dropped in at Canal City, a major commercial facility in the area. A lot of advertising logos caught my eyes. They all reminded me of my USCPA study…OPA … CPA?GAP… GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principle)?GAS… GAAS (Generally Accepted Auditing Standards)?
I cannot get away with my tardy study schedule!

Today is the last operating day of our office in this year.
The bank is open till 30th, so I had to apply for a kind of sick leave to bridge the gap between the final days of the two organizations.
Before leaving the office, I paid a visit to give a year end greeting to an ex-director of a major credit card bureau. After exchanging flattering words to each other, he gave me a book, titled “Samurai Card,” which introduces the history of credit card business in Japan and its expansion to the overseas markets.
The book was interesting, so I finished reading it in an hour. Then, I thought again that it’d be exciting if I could have a chance to do business in foreign countries.
Speaking of working overseas, KT san has got a notice regarding his relocation to China.
He’s 30. So am I. I'm always encouraged to hear about his news.
祝您幸运,KT先生!

Since I haven't had enough sleep these days, I fell down on the bed before mid night...but, fortunately, awoke at 3:30. Upon getting up, I went straight to my study.

The early bird catches the worm （早起きは三文の得）

I went over MCQs of REG and AUD, and found something interesting about the topic related to auditor's responsibility to detect ILLEGAL ACTS.

I've thought for a long time that an auditor is not liable to detect clients' illegal acts.

AU317
07: ～the auditor should be aware of the possibility that such illegal acts may have occurred. ～ However ～ an audit made in accordance with GAAS provides no assurance that illegal acts will be detected ～
08: Normally, an audit in accordance with GAAS does not include audit procedures specifically designed to detect illegal acts.

Having read the clauses above, I thought an auditor isn't obliged to find out the clients' illegal acts, though, when any doubts about illegal acts come to an auditor's attention, he or she has to dig into it, and if it is the case, then the auditor has to report it to the audit committee (, which could be made in written or oral; in case of oral communication, the auditor must later document it.)

But,

today I noticed that I have to modify my understanding above.

According to Private Securities Litigation Reform Act ( a topic of REG: PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES),

...苦しいと思います、がここで心が折れたら負け...

...負け...

No, I don't wanna be a loser!

I've been studying till 3:00am these days.
The length of time doesn't always guarantee the effectiveness of the study, but it's also true, I think, that a certain amount of time is definitely needed to make enough preparation for USCPA exam.
So, I'll keep studying till late night (or early in the morning) at the current pace!

From “Willey2005” MODULE15: STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
Q.How should a gain from the sale of used equipment for cash be reported in a statement of cash flows using the indirect method?

a. In investment activities as a reduction of the cash inflow from the sale
b. In investment activities as a cash outflow
c. In operating activities as a deduction from income
d. In operating activities as an addition to income.
(click the "ANSWER" below for the explanation)

I searched for the relevant data in my memory…
“Cash proceeds from a sale of a tangible property is classified as cash inflow in investment activities…”
“Indirect method is used to make a reconciliation of operating cash (in)flow from book (net) income…”

Well, these are the only thing that I could remember, and I failed to choose the correct answer… Well, I need to review CF topics again..

One of the beginner level questions is about how to account for the difference between BV and FV of Held-to-Maturity securities, Trading securities, and Available-for-Sale securities.
It’s easy to understand the concept, but it’s not as easy to put it down in words.
I found a good English example of the explanation in Willey 2006. The use of a preposition “WITH” is very neat and nice, which I assume a non-native speaker of English like me would hardly come up with, although we have certainly learned that use of “WITH” in a high school grammar class when preparing for univ. entrance exam. ( I remember I taught it to my students when working as a part-time teacher at a private cram school! )

Following is an excerpt of that part from Willey.

1. Held-to-maturity securities, which include only debt securities, are reported on B/S at amortized cost without adjustment to FV.

2. Trading securities are reported at FV withholding gains or losses flowing through the income statement.

3. Available-for-Sale securities are reported at FV with holding gains or losses reported as a component of other comprehensive income.